Meditation on This Sunday's Gospel

The readings for Sunday, June 2, 2024:

First reading and Psalm:

1 Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18

Alternate first reading and Psalm:

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Psalm 81:1-10

Second reading:

2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Gospel:

Mark 2:23-3:6

This week's Gospel asks us to think about why we adopt the religious rules and rituals that we do. We see the Pharisees, those old adversaries of Jesus, feeling and acting offended when Jesus ignores the laws of the Sabbath. We see Jesus in what seems to be a confrontational mode.

We might ask why Jesus had to take this approach. The man with the withered hand could have waited for healing for one more day. The disciples plucking grain to eat on the Sabbath seem to be doing it mindlessly. They could have found some other food.

We could ask similar questions of the Pharisees. Why do these rules have to be so rigid? It's important to remember that although we think of Pharisees as hypocrites largely because of their interactions with Jesus, this could not be further from the truth. They were very sincere and committed to what they believed, far more committed than most of their contemporaries.

And it's vitally important to remember that their motivations for keeping strict standards were very good. In The Secret Message of Jesus, Brian D. McLaren notes that the Pharisees hoped that their own purity would prompt God to send the Messiah to liberate them, specifically to liberate them from Roman oppression. Therefore it's understandable that they would try to recruit others to this cause, and that they would grow frustrated with people who couldn't meet their own requirements--the actions of those people polluted the whole population, thus resulting in more alienation from God.

Before we get too snooty about those Pharisees, before we feel too superior to them, it's important to look at our own time. Anyone who has done any kind of church work probably recognizes the Pharisees in Mark's Gospel. Whether we're fighting over big issues or small, it's always been astounding to me to see the energy that some devote to a fight. And I'm sure there are people who would say the same thing about me.

Of course, it's not just in our churches. I've also described many of our workplaces, and the larger world of international relations. Some of us may recognize our family life. Some may recognize ourselves.

Let me stress it is important to recognize our own inner Pharisee. No one is blameless here. Let's return to the one of the questions the text asks us to consider: what are these religious rules and customs for?

We live in a time period where it may seem that the very moorings of our society have come undone. Like Pharisees, we, too, may fall in love with the idea that laws can save us and either restore past glory or propel us to the deliverance that has been promised.

Christ calls us to a different vision as he reminds us again and again that too rigid a love of the law is idolatry itself. Christ calls us to create a world of open borders and solid bridges, not one of walls and impenetrable defenses. Christ calls us out of our graves of fear and sorrow.